


the spaniard and the sea

by andyanthea



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - The Little Mermaid Fusion, I'm Sorry, M/M, Telepathy, keep reading to find out why, merman au, probably the first non-mcfamily stofflonso fic?, with a cruel twist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 17:03:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15733704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andyanthea/pseuds/andyanthea
Summary: Fernando is a fisherman who will never get himself in seawater. One day he finds an orange-tailed merman beached at the shore.





	the spaniard and the sea

**Author's Note:**

> This was actually written two months ago during my holiday in Bali, I blame the breeze in Kuta Beach for helping me finish this so quickly. There's a major twist in the end...keep reading to find out what it is ;) Title is from Hemingway's 'The Old Man and the Sea'.

Fernando’s eyes were fixated on the rod. Fish were harder to come by as last typhoon messed up with the waters, and it had been the third day where he sailed to the middle of the sea, testing his luck. He sat still on his boat, hoping for the slightest tug on the string. A few hours passed and the sun had set by the time he gave up. Fernando decided that preparing for dinner would be more worthwhile than waiting on his bait, and rowed back to land.

Night came, and Fernando tidied up the dishes before turning off the lights. He had only slept for five minutes before an unusually loud wave crashed into the shore, waking him up. Fernando scrambled on his feet to see what happened. He expected a thunderstorm outside, but there’s not even the slightest trace of drizzle on his window.

He spotted, instead, a large tailed being washed ashore. Fernando thought it was an oversized specimen of fish, or even a shark, but once he went outside for a better look, it was neither.

A merman had beached in front of his house.

__

Fernando had gained a better look on the lost merman in the morning. He was slim, yet sculpted, with short blond hair and soft features adorning his pale skin. His tail was the color of the setting sun, and the scales glistened in the water, contrasting the dingy white of Fernando’s old bathtub. He had never seen a human so gorgeous, a merfolk even more so. Heck, Fernando only knew such creatures from the bluffs of his fellow fisherman and words of the townspeople, of which he never bought much. But seeing one in person brought an eerie feeling down his spine.

The merman began to blink, and Fernando took a few steps back. His eyes blew open, perhaps startled to see himself in a human’s place. Once the merman calmed down, Fernando knelt down next to the tub, examining the wounded tail. It was quite a big wound, judging by how merman blood drenched Fernando’s hands when he carried him inside. The merman winced when Fernando stroked the wounded area, but seemed to hold back. Fernando heard a shy voice in his head.

 _Were you the one who saved me?_ It asked.

 _Telepathy._ Fernando had heard from the priests and witch doctors that those mythical beings do not converse in human ways, and the mind was one of such methods. He initially thought on replying out loud, but decided to follow his ways.

 _This is my house. You were beached outside last night,_ Fernando carefully answered, not wanting to shock the young merman. _This wound is terrible. Are you alright?_

 _It hurts a lot. I couldn’t swim too far and ended up there. But thank you,_ the merman replied. _My name is Stoffel._

 _Stoffel,_ Fernando repeated the strange name in his head. _I’m Fernando. I’m a fisherman. Welcome to dry land._

Stoffel smiled, and Fernando felt affection fill his chest at the twinkle in those clear green eyes. Somehow, he felt more determined to take care of him. He reached for the ointments and bandages, replaced the bloodstained water in the tub, and worked until the night.

__

It took quite a while for Stoffel’s tail to recover. The stab wound was deep, and Fernando guessed he almost became a bycatch of a fellow fisherman. Nevertheless, Stoffel beared with lying in the bathtub until his wound healed, and he had exchanged tales with the Fernando as the time went. Fernando had told him the strangeness of the lands, while Stoffel described the wonders and horrors of the sea. They talked about the recent typhoon and how it messed up life at the beach, with Fernando talking about how the fishermen languished without any catch and Stoffel speaking of the scared fish down the depths.

Stoffel liked how Fernando was patient with him, feeding him fish he captured in luck and redressing his wounds until the ointment worked its job. He was surprised at how much Fernando seemed to know about the sea, and how speaking to a merman didn’t seem to shock him much. But it only made his company more enjoyable as he waited for the wound to heal.

Three days soon passed, and Fernando returned him to the sea in early morning. He lifted the merman up to his boat, and he sailed further to the middle. When they reached the middle of the sea, Fernando helped Stoffel enter the waters. Watching Stoffel sigh in relief upon feeling the familiar coolness surround him made Fernando smile, too. He was a bit disappointed to split ways with his companion, as Stoffel had brought a new color into his mundane life. Alas, good things must come to an end, Fernando told himself.

What he did not expect was Stoffel gripping the side of his boat, eyes full of sadness. Fernando tried to sail away from him, but Stoffel tightened his grip and refused to let go. The plea in Stoffel’s eyes brought a twisting pain to Fernando’s chest.

 _Come with me to the sea,_ the murmurs come into his mind. _You swim, don’t you?_

Fernando sighed. _I don’t swim in the sea. I never do. I hate it, I’m afraid of it. I can’t decide._

 _But you catch fish. And you’re familiar with the sea,_ Stoffel insisted. _Surely you can join me down here? Just for a while?_

Stoffel’s hand tugged at Fernando’s ankle, and the fisherman flinched at the wetness. He pulled back and pushed Stoffel’s hands away.

“I can’t, Stoffel. I’m sorry,” Fernando snapped, but felt his mouth dry when Stoffel dropped his hands, green irises staring at him in sorrow. “I can’t join you down there. The land is my place. Not the sea.”

Fernando ignored the pain in his chest as he rowed as fast as he could. He must leave, no, disappear from the sea immediately. Any slower, and Stoffel would catch up to him like he captured his heart.

__

One month had gone after Fernando let Stoffel off into the ocean. Life after Stoffel had returned to its initial blandness, only that the after-effects of the typhoon had subsided and he actually managed to catch lots of fish. The fish market had flourished once more, and so did Fernando’s pockets, but there remained a gaping hole in his heart. Every sunset Fernando would sit down by the shore, watching the sea to quench his secret longing. He wouldn’t admit it, but he had grown quite fond of the young merman. The crashing waves echoed his bright laugh, and the foamy seawater reminded him of green eyes set on pale skin.

Then a stream of orange cut through the blueness of the sea.

Fernando thought he was dreaming when he saw who swam towards him.

_Missed me?_

Fernando beamed upon hearing the cheeky voice in his head. 

_Yes._  
__  
Stoffel continued to visit Fernando, even long after the incident. Sometimes he would approach Fernando’s boat when he fished in the morning, and in some others he would swim by the shore to gaze the stars with Fernando. Stoffel’s visits soon became more frequent, and Fernando found himself becoming increasingly enamored of his aquatic visitor. More stories, more touches. The crackle of attraction grew insistent in the ocean air.

The full moon was bright up above when Fernando first felt those rosy lips on his, tasting sea salt on the soft skin. His brown eyes met green ones when they opened, and Fernando was entranced. The moonlight made the faint blush on Stoffel’s porcelain skin even more apparent.

It was Fernando who first entwined their fingers, and bid farewell every night with a kiss to the forehead. It was Stoffel who’s always reluctant to let go, hands lingering on Fernando’s feet as he dipped deeper into the waters, unwilling to part.

They never spoke of love. Maybe they shouldn’t. Maybe they never needed to.

But as the shadows in Fernando’s head ate at him every night, Stoffel was the only joy they allow him.  
__

Word spread in the beach markets that the boat carrying Prince Pierre of France to Spain had perished in a vicious thunderstorm two nights before. A day later, there were new buzz that the prince survived the storm and was found miraculously unharmed on the shores of Valencia. The townsfolk kept wondering how did the prince survive a capsized mothership and even speculated that the prince was saved by a mermaid, like the legends say.

Later that night, Fernando showed Stoffel the newspaper bearing the picture of the beached prince on the headlines. The merman peered curiously, both at the unfamiliar object and the photo on it.

 _It’s you, wasn’t it?_ Fernando pointed at the photo.

Stoffel nodded quietly. _He was drowning. I brought him to the nearest beach I could._

Fernando felt a strange squeeze in his heart when he asked the next question. _What made you? Because he was a prince?_

Stoffel seemed taken aback by the almost accusation. A soft blush crept into his cheeks. _I had to save Pierre, otherwise he'd die-_

 _You even knew his name already? How nice._ Fernando bit his tongue when he heard how bitter he sounded. He didn’t mean to be so....jealous?

Stoffel said nothing. Neither did Fernando. None found the right words to say between the complicated feelings spinning between them.

“It’s late. You should go back,” Fernando broke the silence, pulling himself up. Stoffel had dived back under the sea when Fernando turned his gaze on him, whispering to the empty shore. “Goodbye, Stoffel.”

__

Fernando crashed himself to the mattress, squeezing his eyes to prompt some sleep. Yet storms crashed in his heart and shadows crept into his head, and Fernando woke up drenched in cold sweat. He felt a bad omen surrounding him. 

_Not him, please._ Fernando prayed wordlessly, not even knowing who he prayed to. He begged and begged, hoping to take the choking feeling off his throat. _Don’t take Stoffel away from me._

__

“No, don’t be stupid.” Fernando shook his head. Stoffel pouted from under the water. Fernando knew he shouldn’t have asked Stoffel if he would want to become human for the prince, especially that he seemed to have taken interest in, who was it again? Oh, Pierre.

 _I thought we’re friends,_ Stoffel whined.

 _Yes, and being friends includes me reminding you to make responsible decisions, Fernando mentally retorted. You don’t have to sacrifice your whole life in the sea just to meet a silly prince. What if he doesn’t remember you?_  
Stoffel stuck out his tongue. Fernando had almost forgotten how young he was. _He will. I’m sure._

“Sacrificing your tail for feet is not worth the pain,” Fernando told him. “And humans aren’t all kind up here. They will only hurt you. Use you. It’s useless to change for that stupid prince, whatever he is. You don’t even know what that guy Pierre wants. Besides, do you really want to deal with shady magic to change that tail to something else?”

Stoffel raised an eyebrow, and Fernando could feel the unspoken _how do you know all this_ in his stare.

Fernando rolled his eyes and decided not to continue with the topic. He shifted their conversation to the cloudy skies and the corals in the ocean.

__

There were news from the kingdom that Prince Pierre was looking for his savior. The King of Spain had ordered everyone in the coasts to search high and low for the mermaid who saved the prince. The Kingdom of France had offered a hefty sum for whoever could find it in the seas of Spain, and soon, Fernando witnessed the townsfolk in frenzy as they sought the bounty. Fernando had told everyone that he’s not interested in such a craze, and it wasn’t completely a lie. He cringed at how some con artists had planned to craft a fake mermaid tail to present to the king, and how the ladies fawned over the presumed forbidden love between the mermaid and the prince.

Fernando told Stoffel what happened. The merman shivered at the thought of being captured and brought to a foreign land, away from Fernando. But Stoffel shook his head when Fernando told him to run for his safety. Fernando groaned, and again repeated his words: _run, don’t come back, they’re looking for you and they’ll search high and low until they get what they want._

 _What about you?_ Stoffel asked.

 _Hey, I’m human, you’re the one who should be worried of yourself._ Fernando shrugged him off. But Stoffel was firm on his stance, not leaving the shore even when Fernando already stood up.

 _You'll really let me be away from you?_ Stoffel lamented.

Fernando’s gaze softened at Stoffel’s protests. He knelt down, pressing a kiss to Stoffel’s forehead.

If they capture you then I can never see you again, Fernando sent a hushed warning. But he wasn’t so sure when he told Stoffel to escape for the last time. His voice quivered even more when Stoffel leaned to his touch, hands holding his and not letting go. _You have to leave. This is for your own safety. Return to your home. The land is dangerous._

 _But not you,_ Stoffel objected.

Fernando’s smile is more bitter than he intended. _You’ll never know._

__

Fernando walked back to his home, his head throbbing and his chest hollow. His hands trembled when he caught tears rolling down his cheeks, and he collapsed on the mattress, curling down in fear. His tongue tasted bitter and at that moment he loathed himself more than anyone, more than the stupid prince who made all of this happen. He hated to make Stoffel leave, not when he too was shattered when Stoffel swam away with tears in his eyes.

The fleeting thoughts of _what if I never saved him, what if I never fell for him,_ popped in his head like an ugly flower, and Fernando despised it. He wished he could rip the sorrow out of his chest, but it choked him from inside out and burned his lungs. Fernando wasn’t supposed to know how drowning feels when he had always refused to step into the sea, but somehow it felt too similar.

That night, Fernando suffocated, and felt himself break into pieces like a ship swallowed by the ocean's sorrow.

__

It was supposed to be a pleasant morning before Fernando heard the shouts of men from the sea. Fernando felt his heart stop when he recognized the French emblem adorning the ship’s sails. That idiot Pierre had somehow decided that taking his merfolk savior into dry land would be the best way to show his gratitude. The troops laid down nets in all directions, ready to capture the mermaid (a merman, Fernando stood corrected) that the prince had fallen for. Some of them had even readied hooks and harpoons, and Fernando grimaced at the thought of Stoffel struggling in bloodstained nets. He wouldn’t want Stoffel to be trapped in land for life, even more so because he didn’t know what the prince wanted. Would Pierre want to love a merman? What if he made Stoffel a living exhibit? What if he would be confined in a stinky tank, paraded to please the eyes of disgusting men? The worst scenarios run amok in Fernando’s head, and he knew he had to stop them.

The net laid on the right deck began to shake, and fear immediately overtook Fernando. _They’ve caught him, oh no, they’ve caught him._

Fernando hesitated to enter the waters, but set his eyes sharply on the ship, braving himself to plunge in. He took the deepest breath he could. Never would he have forced himself to face his biggest fear: the ocean. But Stoffel was worth drowning for, Fernando convinced himself despite the goosebumps all over him.

He held his breath, and jumped into the depths. His throat began to burn in the saltwater, and the currents tore at his body.

_This is how everything ends._

__

Stoffel’s lungs began to hurt in the open air as he was drawn further away from water. He was too exhausted to continue thrashing himself out of the net, and closed his eyes, preparing for sweet death.

What Stoffel did not expect was finding himself back in the sea, with shipwreck gradually sinking more and more around him. He noticed a gigantic crack on the side of the ship, water leaking in and weighing it down along with his captors. Stoffel swam back in fear upon spotting a large creature wrecking the ship, and flinched as the stench of iron became more potent. The monster’s tentacles whipped around, breaking the sailors’ limbs one by one. Unleashing its rage, the shady creature raised its arms and summoned a maelstrom from the ocean floor. The water whirled and obliterated the ship from down up, and contorted the drowning sailors to nothing but torn flesh and broken bones. 

When the onslaught ended, the creature stood in front of the ship, seemingly pondering over the destruction it caused. The grandiose ship had been reduced into scraps of wood and shredded sails, and the men had sunken down to the trenches. Stoffel glimpsed a humanoid silhouette from the creature, and covered his mouth with his hands when he realized who it was.

It was Fernando, the same kind fisherman who saved him, who he had grown to love. But in place of feet were eight inky tentacles, the ones tearing up his captors and sinking the mighty ship. Fernando’s skin turned purplish, and his eyes flashed red in fury. Stoffel gasped upon realizing why Fernando refused to join him in the sea. He wasn’t afraid of what’s inside the ocean; he’s afraid of what he becomes in the ocean.

Upon calming down, Fernando’s heart dropped when he saw how fearful Stoffel was upon witnessing his true form. It was why he never wanted to step foot back into the ocean. A sea wizard, cursed with horrifying physique and magic of misery, would never bring happiness to anyone. He had committed uncountable trickeries to dwellers of the ocean, especially the merfolk he had tempted to trade tails for legs. That’s why he escaped to the dry lands ten years ago, and cast a spell upon himself to change his tentacles into plain legs. He put himself through the same pain he inflicted to his victims, to atone to the sins he committed in the deep ocean. Only in the new world could he start anew as a humble fisherman at a beach village far away. But now he had stained his hands once more, and even terrified his most beloved one. He should’ve known; he was beyond repentance, unworthy of love especially from a pure being such as Stoffel.

Stoffel reached out for him, but Fernando would not allow himself the absolution. He propelled himself away from Stoffel, pushing him away with all he could. Fernando shut his eyes, avoiding the yearning in Stoffel’s gaze. One look into those eyes and he would lose it. Stoffel did not deserve a broken man like him. He must leave and never return, no matter how it tore him apart.

Fernando’s movements became even more frantic as Stoffel slowly kept up, and he summoned a cloud of ink downwards, obscuring him from sight. His heart ached when he watched Stoffel struggling to claw through the thick ink, hand reaching out for him. Fernando avoided looking at the looming cloud below him, breathing apologies to the ocean floor while hoping Stoffel would give up the chase. A fragment of him wanted to turn around and catch Stoffel in his arms, but Fernando knew better and silenced his head.  
Fernando sped up as the shore became closer to reach. He desperately tried to remove the pleas echoing in his head, Stoffel’s voice shrinking into faintness as Fernando almost reached the sands.

_Don’t go. Don’t leave me again._

With a loud splash, Fernando landed on wet sand, his lower half already transformed back into human feet. He gazed at the sun setting into a heartbreaking shade of orange, and he didn’t want to know whether his cheeks were wet with seawater or with tears.

__

Fernando had lived a life of deceit and deception, both as a sea wizard in the dark depths and a monster masquerading as human up on land. His punishment was to elude himself from the pleasures of love, and hoped Stoffel would know better to not pursue a monster like him.

Until one sunset, he saw an orange tail swishing towards his shore.


End file.
